VILLAGE ENTERPRISE FUND INC
Organization Details
Mission Statement
VILLAGE ENTERPRISE'S MISSION IS TO END EXTREME POVERTY IN RURAL AFRICA THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION. PARTNERING WITH GOVERNMENTS, NONPROFITS, UNITED NATIONS AGENCIES, CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS, AND PRIVATE SECTOR COMPANIES, (SEE SCHEDULE O)VILLAGE ENTERPRISE EQUIPS FIRST-TIME ENTREPRENEURS IN AFRICA WITH RESOURCES AND SKILLS TO START CLIMATE-SMART BUSINESSES AND SAVINGS GROUPS. LOCALLY-LED AND COMMUNITY-BASED, THE ORGANIZATION WORK WITH THE MOST VULNERABLE WOMEN, REFUGEES, AND YOUTH IN RURAL AFRICA AND EQUIP THEM TO ADAPT TO THE SHOCKS OF DROUGHT, DISPLACEMENT, THE PANDEMIC, AND CONFLICT.
Financial Information (2023)
Recent Progress (2026)
From March through June 2026, Village Enterprise's defining story was the rapid institutionalization of its Ultra-Poor Graduation (UPG) approach at government scale. In March, Kenya's Council of Governors adopted a resolution to cascade the UPG Strategy to county governments, and West Pokot County passed the UPG Bill into law — a legislative first. In April, Rwanda's Gicumbi District disbursed RWF 100 million to 1,000 small business owners through a VUP Financial Services pilot, praised by LODA's Director General for national expansion. June brought the most significant evidence yet: two independent IDinsight RCTs confirmed the DREAMS program significantly reduces extreme poverty among refugees and host communities, with participants increasing savings by over 90% and household assets by 20–24%. Throughout the period, individual entrepreneurs — from Agnes's 1,300-chicken operation to a Uganda women's group scaling from 3 to 20+ livestock — grounded these systemic gains in human terms.
Key Achievements
- 📊Two independent RCTs by IDinsight confirmed DREAMS significantly reduces extreme poverty among refugees and host communities in Uganda and Ethiopia.
- 📈DREAMS participants increased savings by over 90% in both Uganda and Ethiopia, strengthening household resilience to economic and climate shocks.
- 🏠Refugee and host community entrepreneurs grew household assets by 20–24%, purchasing livestock, solar panels, furniture, and building homes.
- 🏛️Kenya's West Pokot County launched the Ultra Poor Poverty Graduation Act, committing to lift 1,200 households out of extreme poverty.
- 📺Village Enterprise's Rwanda Country Director appeared on Rwanda TV to discuss national scale-up of poverty graduation programs with the Ministry of Local Government.